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Why Should I Care?

The phrase that has infuriated all of us at some point in our lives. There is nothing worse than being invested in something and trying to get others to recognize the value only to get an apathetic response. Everyone has areas of their life that they don't care about that much. For many people it is their jobs, they do what they need to in order to maintain their income. Those that want to see the business succeed it is a hard thing to wrestle with. You can't force someone to care. You can't yell at them till they care. You can't even give big raises and bribe them to care, it doesn't last as long as you think. The key is to surround yourself with as many people that are aligned in what they care about. Great teams have a singular focus and goal that everyone is committed to, that everyone cares about.

A great disservice is when the leader doesn't care, or what is probably more appropriate, doesn't appear to care. Appearances are everything. I know that if you walked up to a leader and asked them if they cared about the team/people/group/business they run they of course will tell you they care, but their words have to match their actions. You might tell others you care, you probably tell yourself, but if you took a poll, what would others say? If people don't believe that the leader cares, the followers won't care either. Maybe not at first, but eventually atrophy sets in and the grind wears you down. Soon you are asking, "Why should I care when the leader doesn't?" If you aren't getting the response from people that you want, usually the problem isn't with all of them, the problem is with you.

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